Destroyer USS Halsey Returns To SD

The guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey returned to Naval Station San Diego on Monday from a deployment that included the death of one of its own earlier this year.

The Halsey left San Diego last September to join the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in Asia and the Middle East.

"This deployment has been tremendously successful, and our team performed as professionals and patriots," said the commanding officer, Cmdr. Jordy Harrison. "A Navy deployment is unique amongst the armed services, in that it not only serves to defend our homeland, but also enables us to represent America as ambassadors and symbols of strength -- we accomplished this mission."

The Halsey took part in a military exercise in the Philippines, provided support for President Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia and conducted anti-piracy patrols, according to Naval Surface Forces public affairs.

In January, the Pentagon announced that a Halsey crew member  Petty Officer Dominique Cruz, 26, of Panama City, Fla. was found dead during search-and-rescue operations in the Gulf of Oman.

Cruz, an operations specialist, was found a day after she failed to report to work aboard the destroyer. She apparently went overboard, according to published reports.

The Halsey is named after World War II Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey.

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